Constructing Critical Religious Knowledge through Multicultural Islamic Religious Education in Elementary Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30736/atl.v10i2.2861Keywords:
Critical religious knowledge, elementary school, epistemic mediation, Islamic religious education, knowledge constructionAbstract
This study analyzes how an elementary school Islamic Religious Education (Pendidikan Agama Islam/PAI) teacher constructs critical religious knowledge in multicultural learning using Banks's knowledge construction process as an analytical framework. This qualitative single-case study examined the bounded pedagogical practice of one Islamic Religious Education teacher at SDN Puhti 2, focusing on how the teacher mediated normative religious content through pupils’ lived experiences in classroom interactions. Data were collected through classroom observation, interviews, and documentation and analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that the teacher understood multicultural Islamic Religious Education as integrating Islamic obedience with respect for diversity, acted as a constructor rather than a transmitter of religious knowledge, and developed critical religious knowledge through contextualization, reflective dialogue, simple multiperspectivity, and textual interpretation. School culture, teacher experience, instructional time, textbook characteristics, and assessment practices shaped this process. The study extends Banks's knowledge construction process by conceptualizing the teacher as an epistemic mediator who connects normative religious knowledge with pupils' personal and cultural experiences through developmentally appropriate pedagogical strategies. The findings contribute to the theoretical development of multicultural PAI and provide practical implications for teacher practice, school culture, and curriculum development in elementary religious education.Downloads
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